ECOVER, as seen from The Wave, Muscat, racing off Cowes. Image copyright Anne Hinton, all rights reserved.
by Lucy Harwood
Day one of the Extreme Sailing Series Cowes has shown that the competition is going to be tough on the waters of the Solent. A great performance by Ecover today over five short course races and one long distance race see them placed second overall.
The first of five long distance races to be run this week, kicked off this morning in rain and a light breeze 5 knot breeze. Many of the fleet were caught out on the eight mile course which ran close to the shore, and as a result several boats suffered damaged to their daggerboards. Ecover had a close battle with Oman Sail Masirah to the top mark, and then stretched their legs to see a commanding win finishing in a time of 1 hour 34 minutes and 12 seconds. “It was a great start to the day,” commented skipper Mike Golding. “It was one of those races where if you’re first at the top mark it’s a great opportunity to extend and take the lead, I think we clipped the bottom at one point but have very minimal damage compared to some of the other boats”.
Speaking after the race Luke Scott, who had won a coverted 5th man Sopt onboard Ecover as part of a competition with the Southern Daily Echo commented, “Its hard to put it into words, this is the best sailing experience I have ever done, or will ever be able to do again in the future. Just to be with these guys, to see them sail, watch them make decisions under pressure it is just awesome. That was one of the most intense things I have ever done, I can’t thank everyone enough for such an amazing experience”.
After some rain and light winds, the afternoon short course racing got underway off Egypt point with blue skies, sunshine and a consistent 12 plus knots of breeze. The strong current once against proved one of the biggest challenges of the day, and some inside knowledge was clearly an advantage with the local sailors onboard Oman Sail Masirah, The Wave and Ecover showing their skill on the water. “Is it an advantage? Maybe yes, but I think it might be more of a general awareness and understanding of how easy it can be to make a costly mistake. We know that this event can be one of the most challenging of the series, and I’m sure with Will, Leigh and myself onboard we are certainly able to pick the windshifts and understand the impact that this current can have on your performance out there”.
For Ecover it was a good day overall, as they kept the pressure on the top boats and went into this afternoon's racing in the lead. Oman Sail Masirah showed why they are reigning champions, sailing consistently all day. But Ecover came out fighting, posting top four places on every race. The podium was hard fought between the Oman Sail team, Ecover and Groupe Edmond Rothschild, with just three points seperating second to fourth overall. This is the longest event of the series with another five days of racing still to go, for Ecover who narrowly missed out on a podium place in Sete, they are looking for a good result in Cowes. "We know its going to be a hard event. The fleet is just getting better and better and the differences between first and last are getting smaller and smaller. We need to be consistent that’s key and I’m really pleased with the performance today.”
ECOVER Sailing Team
Extreme Sailing Series Europe
